St. John's University Athletics
St. John's Hosts Pittsburgh For Senior Day
2/25/2011 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Feb. 25, 2011
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QUEENS, N.Y. - St. John's will host Pittsburgh in its final regular season home game of the 2010-11 season. Saturday's 2 p.m. contest is also the designated Girls and Women in Sports Day celebration as well as the Red Storm's senior day. There will be a pregame Women In Sports Day Clinic and a postgame dinner with celebrity key note speaker, women's soccer phenom Kristine Lilly.
Saturday's contest can be followed live via StormTracker All-Access. The contest will have a live video and audio broadcast, which will feature a multi-camera setup. Fans can access the feature by going to RedStormSports.com, clicking on the All-Access button and signing up for the service. The All-Access subscription is $9.95 a month or $79.95 for the year. There will also be live stats for the contest that can be accessed for free. Josh Harmon will be on the call live from Carnesecca Arena floor.
Tip Off Quick Hits
In a special pregame presentation, St. John's will recognize the dedication and commitment of its seniors, team manager Bethel Getachew, graduate assistant Katie Moore and senior players Coco Hart and Sky Lindsay. Getachew has given her time to the Red Storm program for three years and has gone above and beyond her duties. Moore has been an important part of the St. John's women's basketball family as both a former head team manager and then as a graduate assistant. Hart and Lindsay joined the team in 2007-08 and have seen the program grow from a WNIT team to a NCAA Tournament contender. Hart has transformed from a role player to a starter and is the heart and sole of the team, bringing to New York her southern flare and hospitality. Lindsay, a native New Yorker, has started every game of her career, brings a spark to the team on and off the court and is close to being a 1,000 point-scorer with 937 points.
Saturday's contest is the 48th meeting all-time between St. John's and Pittsburgh. The Red Storm holds a 31-16 advantage in a series dating back to Dec. 8, 1982. Pittsburgh (13-14, 5-9 BIG EAST) is looking to rebound off a 67-57 loss at Georgetown; while St. John's (19-8, 8-6) will try to create a win streak after defeating Villanova, 57-46 on Tuesday.
Red Storm vs. Panthers
The series between St. John's and Pittsburgh dates back to Dec. 8, 1982. St. John's leads the all-time series, 31-16 and the BIG EAST regular season series, 29-15. In postseason play, the teams have each won a game against each other in the BIG EAST Tournament, St. John's won the first meeting, 93-73, in the 1988 Semifinals en route to a BIG EAST Tournament title. Pitt won the second postseason meeting, 73-67, in the 1995 tournament.
St. John's won the first-ever meeting between the squads, 69-58, in Pittsburgh, but the Panthers won the next season, playing on Feb. 11, 1984, 83-64, also at Pitt.
The Red Storm won the next nine regular season meetings from 1985 through 1988. From 1989 through the Kim Barnes Arico Era, neither team held a significant series advantage.
Since head coach Kim Barnes Arico took over during the 2002-03 season, St. John's has regained control of the series, winning seven of their last 11 meetings.
St. John's won the last meeting between the two BIG EAST opponents, 77-65, in Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh has not visited Queens since Jan. 22, 2008.
Coaching Match Up
Ninth-year St. John's head coach Kim Barnes Arico is 149-121 (.552) at St. John's. She is 243-193 (.557) overall as a head coach. Barnes Arico marked her first win over Pittsburgh, 69-66, on Feb. 1, 2003 at at the Petersen Events Center. The Panthers had won the previous meeting three weeks earlier, 75-51, at Carnesecca Arena (Jan. 18, 2003).
Pittsburgh's head coach Agnus Berenato is nearly through her eighth season on the bench with the Panthers. Berenato boasts a 143-103 record with the Panthers. She has coached for almost 27 full seasons.
Barnes Arico is 6-2 against Berenato.
When Last They Met
The last time STJ and Pitt met was on March 1, 2010 at Petersen Events Center for the final regular season game of the 2009-10 season. Earlier in the day, St. John's was voted No. 16 in the Associated Press Poll.
Kelly McManmon scored 18 points as the No. 16 St. John's women's basketball team won for the 11th time in 13 games and clinched a double-bye in the BIG EAST tournament with a 77-65 win over Pittsburgh.
Da'Shena Stevens added 17 points and 15 rebounds and Shenneika Smith had 16 points and 10 rebounds for the Red Storm, who reached 24 wins (24-5) in a season for the first time in 26 years. The 12 (12-4) league victories tied the program record the Red Storm set in 1984-85.
Nadirah McKenith had 14 assists for St. John's, tying for the sixth-most in a game in school history. The Red Storm shot 7-for-13 on 3-pointers, including 6-of-9 by McManmon.
For Pitt, Brittaney Thomas had a career-high 27 points and Chelsea Cole added 11 points and 16 rebounds for Pitt, which had won four of its previous five.
The Red Storm led by nine after a 14-2 run late in the first half.
The game featured 11 ties, the last at 58-58 with 7:25 left. St. John's then used a 12-3 run to take the lead for good, part of a game-closing 19-7 run.
Last Time At Carnesecca Arena
The last time the Pittsburgh visited Carnesecca Arena was on Jan. 22, 2008. The Panthers were ranked No. 19 in the country and held off the Red Storm in a 70-64 win.
For Pitt, Shavonte Zellous scored 28 points helping the Panthers to their ninth-straight victory.
For St. John's, Kristin Moore scored a career-high 15 points and Kia Wright added 10.
STJ was down 22 points with just eight minutes to go and rallied to come within six.
STJ led 15-14 with 11:55 left in the first period before Pittsburgh went on a 17-2 run to take a 31-17 lead before Joy McCorvey finally ended the drought with a putback of her own miss at 1:41. The Panthers led 33-21 at the half.
The Panthers started the second half with a 16-5 run to put the game away. Zellous and Walker each scored six points during the spurt. Walker's layup gave Pitt a 49-26 advantage.
Trailing by 20 with 9:13 left, St. John's used a 12-2 run to close to 57-47 on Moore's three-point play. She had seven points during the spurt. Pitt extended the lead back up to 66-51 on Zellous' three-point play with 3:13 left. The Red Storm refused to go away, scoring the next nine points to close to 66-60 with 1 minute left, but could get no closer.
Scouting Pittsburgh
At 13-14 overall, 5-9 in the BIG EAST, Pittsburgh continues to Queens after playing the nation's capital on Wednesday. The Panthers lost at No. 18/19 Georgetown, 67-57 and will look to rebound from its loss for seeding purposes in the upcoming BIG EAST Tournament.
Pitt has lost its last two, losing to the Hoyas (Feb. 23) and previously to West Virginia (Feb. 19).
Against Georgetown, Jania Sims led all scorers with 17 points, 11 from the foul line.
Pitt is 4-8 on the road this season, including a 2-4 record in conference games.
Pitt ranks third in the BIG EAST in free throw shooting percentage (72.1).
The Panthers are led in scoring with three players in double figures. Taneisha Harrison leads the pack and is sixth in the BIG EAST with 15.4 points per game. Sims is second in scoring with 12.8 ppg and Chelsea Cole, who scored 11 points the last time against St. John's, ranks third with 10.2 ppg. Cole averages a double-double with a team-best 10.1 boards per game.
The Panthers conference wins have come against Seton Hall, Cincinnati, at West Virginia (Feb. 5), USF and Providence.
The Panthers are 2-3 in their last five games.
On This Date In STJ History
The last time St. John's played on Feb. 26 was during the 2007-08 season. The Red Storm defeated Seton Hall, 73-45, in Carnesecca Arena. The previous season, the Red Storm lost to Marquette at home, 69-60.
During the Kim Barnes Arico Era, St. John's is 2-1 when playing on Feb. 26.
Overall, St. John's is 5-7 when playing on Feb. 26.
Postgame Notes: Villanova
St. John's women's basketball put a stop to Villanova's recent winning streak after a 57-46 victory over the Wildcats on Tuesday night at The Pavilion.
Four Red Storm players scored in double figures for the seventh time this season, led by senior Centhya "Coco" Hart and junior Da'Shena Stevens with 15 points each. Sophomore Nadirah McKenith put 12 points on the board, shooting a perfect 8-for-8 from the foul line and adding five assists. Classmate Shenneika Smith tallied her third double-double of the season with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
Smith's 10 point-game was her third double-digit scoring effort in four games. Stevens scored in the double figures for the fifth-straight contest. McKenith's 12-point effort was her fifth-consecutive game with 10 or more points.
For Villanova, Laura Sweeney led with 10 points. Sarah Jones came close to double figures with nine.
In the second half, St. John's led by as many as 14 points, but the Wildcats cut the lead to seven, 37-30, after Jones hit three-consecutive shots including a 3-pointer from the top of the arc at 13:17.
After the small Wildcat run, St. John's went back up 13 points on Villanova with just over eight minutes left. In the final six minutes, St. John's sank 14 free throws to stay ahead by 10 for the rest of the game.
At the half, St. John's led 29-17, marking the sixth time this season the Red Storm has held an opponent to less than 18 points and the 11th time St. John's held an opponent to less than 22 points in the first period.
St. John's opened the game on a 13-3 run, holding Villanova to just one basket through the first nine minutes of play. Villanova was held scoreless for four minutes.
StormTracker
STJ has two players averaging in double-figures through 27 games played with sophomore Shenneika Smith and junior Da'Shena Stevens. Smith has led the team all season with 360 total points and an average of 13.3 per contest to go along with 5.9 boards per game. Stevens, who recorded a double-double vs. Georgetown (Feb. 13) averages 12.3 ppg with a team-best 6.4 rpg. She leads the squad in double-doubles with five.
Up Next
The Red Storm will have a fast turnaround as the team will travel to No. 19/18 West Virginia to face the Mountaineers in the 2011 regular-season finale on ESPN2's Big Monday. Tip off is slated for 7 p.m.
